Sinclair’s ABC Affiliates Will Pre-Empt Jimmy Kimmel’s Return
One of the largest owners of local TV stations in America says it will not broadcast Jimmy Kimmel’s return to ABC on the 31 network affiliates it owns and operates.
In a statement posted to X on Monday night, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced plans to show alternate programming in place of the late night host’s return to the airwaves.
“Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming,” the statement read. “Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return.”
On Monday, ABC announced it is lifting Kimmel’s suspension after four days — following a comment made on his Sept. 15 broadcast in which he accused “the MAGA gang” of trying to “score political points” in the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
“The MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said.
Sinclair and Nexstar — another major owner of local ABC affiliates — exerted pressure on ABC to pull Kimmel off the air by signaling they would not broadcast his show on their stations. On Sept. 17, ABC suspended Kimmel “indefinitely.”
In a press release after the suspension was announced, Sinclair stated it “will not lift the suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on our stations until formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability.”
Some critics believe Sinclair and Nexstar’s moves to keep Kimmel off the air are part of an effort to appease President Donald Trump — whose FCC they are currently lobbying over various regulatory issues. Nexstar is trying to complete a proposed acquisition of Tegna — which would give the company a foothold in roughly 80 percent of U.S. households. But the deal would require approval from Trump’s FCC — which would need to relax its current limits on station ownership.
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